Summer Nights
by Ayumi Ikari
Summary: Hiko and Kenshin during training


Summer Nights

June 1860

The pressing heat covered the land. No wind whispered through the green woods. No cloud could be seen in the clear blue sky covering the glaring sun. Even in the otherwise cool woods, the heat was nearly unbearable. Kenshin held the sword in his sweaty hands and tried to concentrate. Even though he only wore his hakama and sandals - he had not put on his haori in the last few days - he was sweaty all over. His hair clung to his forehead and neck. He had difficulty holding his sword right with his slick fingers. Inwardly, he sighed. How could Shishou wear his cloak in this heat?

Once more, he wiped the sweat from his brow and took position. Collecting his thoughts, he tried hard not to let his concentration become disrupted by anything  and attacked. Steel met steel and the next moment, Kenshin found himself laying sprawled on the ground.

Seijuro Hiko found himself wondering why the weather kept bothering him like it did. Ridiculous, given that he could not change anything about it. Nonetheless, the heat was depressing. If only he could take off the damn cape, but the danger was simply too great that he would misjudge his strength and hurt Kenshin. The risk was simply too great to take simply for the sake of his own comfort.

The last week was hotter than any summer he had experienced. The early summer rain had been short this year and now there was a terrible summer heat all over the land.

Not even here was it any better. At first, he had thought of it as a kind of stamina building exercise for Kenshin, but with the weather like this for the last week, it still seemed like it was getting warmer by the day.

One look at Kenshin getting back on his feet told him that the boy was close to collapse. His face and, in fact, his whole body was nearly the color of his hair.

Hiko sighed again. There was no point in continuing today.

Kenshin, breathing heavily, took position once more. He was about to attack as Hiko held him back.

"Baka, that is enough for today."

"What? Shishou, I can still do better! I'll concentrate more and-"

"Ah, Baka!" Hiko rolled his eyes. "I know you can do better. But it is enough for today. Really."

Kenshin looked down guiltily. "Gomen..."

"Baka! Will you stop that? I am not dissatisfied with your effort today. But it is enough. Let us go and fix something to eat."

The sound from the distant waterfall brought some life into the quiet woods. Kenshin stood in the small river and tried his luck with a small net. He wore only his fundoshi and had dived headlong into the deep water as they arrived. Now there were many small drops of water glittering in the sun on his hair and skin.

Hiko sat a few meters downriver with his fishing rod and drank sake. There was nothing like well-cooled sake on a day like this.

There still was no cloud to see in the sky. Rain seemed so far away.

Hiko thought about how to continue with the training if the temperatures stayed this high for the time being. Kenshin might be tough, but after a week, he himself had had enough of the heat, even if he would never admit this, especially not in front of the baka. The possibilities were slim and-

"SHIIISHOOOU!" an excited cry startled him.

"Shishou, I got one!" Kenshin exclaimed proudly as he came running through the water towards him, splashing water all around.

"BAKA DESHI! You are scaring off all the fish!"

"Oh..."

The sound of the door woke Kenshin from his light sleep. He lay on his futon without a blanket since it was so hot even during the night.

Sleepily, he looked around, seeing the small hut's interior in the moonlight coming through the window. Kenshin yawned heartily, rolled to the other side and then realised he was all alone in the hut. He probably had only slept for a few moments and Shishou was still outside drinking sake.

Kenshin closed his eyes again and tried to sleep once more. But then he felt all awake suddenly.

'Maybe it's close to sunrise?' he thought to himself. He decided to get up instead. Maybe he would be allowed to swim for some time while Shishou was training. Shishou always trained in the morning, while Kenshin was still asleep and in the evening, when Kenshin was already sleeping.

Quickly, he stowed away his futon and put on his hakama before walking outside.

Surprised, Kenshin realised it was still during the night. The moon was bright in the sky and there was no light of morning on the horizon. He could see Hiko disappearing between the trees, his white cape clearly visible against the nights grey. Given that he was here already and not feeling sleepy at all, Kenshin had no intention of going back to bed. Instead, he followed Hiko into the dark forest.

After Kenshin had lost Hiko in between the trees, he followed the sound towards the waterfall. Finally he came close to where he had been fishing earlier that day.

Kenshin saw Hiko beneath the waterfall, where he was meditating. He wore nothing but his fundoshi, yet Hiko still made an impressive sight even with the great waterfall as a frame. Kenshin wondered how he could bear the water falling down on his shoulders and head.

Anyway, Hiko had yet to realise Kenshin's presence. That was pretty uncommon, since he normally always knew where the boy was, even when he should not know. Relishing the thought, Kenshin decided upon a daring plan. He would approach Shishou without being discovered!

He took off his hakama and his sandals and slid into the water under cover from a bush. Kenshin took a deep breath, then swam towards Hiko underwater as fast as he could. It was so dark and he could not see where he was swimming, so he had to rely on his hearing and his orientation to guide him towards the waterfall. The thundering grew stronger as he came closer. The current grew stronger as well and he had difficulty getting further. He was close, but slowly running out of air and he had to concentrate not to swim upwards, when he was suddenly taken out of the water by two strong arms.

Confused, Kenshin looked into Hiko's eyes. He quickly tried to see if Hiko was mad at him, but realised that the man was no more than irritated.

"Baka deshi, did you think I would not have sensed your presence? You are even more dense than I thought." Hiko said, half amused.

Kenshin felt relief as he saw the amusement in Hiko's eyes. He smiled.

"Baka..." Hiko sighed and threw Kenshin back into the cold water.

The current took him a few meters, then Kenshin broke the surface again and giggled with pleasure.

Hiko shook his head. He had expected protest, but Kenshin kept giggling as he swam back towards him. Not that this was bad. Not once since Kenshin was with him had he seen him like this. He had not laughed during the last half year. And now, completely unexpectedly, he seemed like a playful child.

Hiko sighed again. That baka was full of surprises. His meditation was over, anyway.

Hiko sat at the side of the river and drank sake. He was fully dressed once more and had the heavy white cape on his shoulders. He watched Kenshin who had been, for some time now, occupied by climbing on a rock and then jumping down into the water. Every time, the current drove him away and he swam back to the rock to climb up once more. Initially, Hiko had wanted to send him back to bed immediately, but the child's good mood had changed his mind. Tomorrow, things could be different again and the sad look would be back in Kenshin's eyes. Those big, sad eyes... how different Kenshin looked tonight. He was laughing so freely, with such innocence as if he had never had any bad experiences. All those months, Hiko had tried to make Kenshin laugh or at least cheer him up. Nothing had worked. He had tried telling stories, both funny and dramatic, as well as a few other things. Once he had shown him a bunch of small rabbits, only a few weeks old. That had been the only time when the sad haze had lifted from those eyes and Kenshin had found fun then, if only for a moment. But the next day, when Kenshin returned to the rabbit's burrow, it had been plundered by some predator. Kenshin had returned to the hut completely shocked, old wounds reopened in his heart. No matter how brave he had tried to seem, that night he had cried himself to sleep.

Finally, when Kenshin had played long enough, he swam back to Hiko. A cold wind made him shiver, so he quickly collected his clothes and got dressed.

Exhausted from the swimming, Kenshin sat down in the grass next to Hiko and crossed his arms behind his back. He looked up into the clear night sky towards the uncountable stars.

"Shishou, will you tell me something about constellations?" Kenshin asked.

"Baka, you should be in bed already!"

Hiko took another sip of sake, his mouth a nearly invisible smile as he saw Kenshin's disappointment.

"You know we are going to train tomorrow?"

Kenshin nodded approvingly. "But I am not tired at all, Shishou!" he declared, watching Hiko. He thought for a moment, then added, "And I promise I will be up really early tomorrow and I will try really hard at everything I do."

"I see."

Disappointed, Kenshin turned his gaze back towards the stars. Shishou had told him about some constellations a few times, but there still were so many he did not know yet.

"So, Baka, what stars do you want to know something about?"

Hiko had not talked for half an hour when Kenshin had already fallen asleep.

The next morning the melancholy was back in Kenshin's eyes and on his spirit. Hiko was not surprised. It would take a long time before Kenshin could leave his past experiences behind. The wounds in his soul would heal slowly. But last night had been a beginning.

Owari

Ayumi's comment:

Hey, dear readers! This is a 3-year old FF I had to think about today because of the hot weather. The original idea I had  could you imagine it any different  in winter!

The story still has a few rough edges, but I still like it.

To all those also reading my FF Pure Heart: please excuse me for taking so long. I hardly have time to write and if I do, I mostly write on the later chapters, since I have a blockade with the current one.

Gomen


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